Refrigerator car



July 1,5, 194 c. D. BoNsVALL. 2,248,944

- i REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed April s, 1939 Patented July 15, 1941 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR CAR Charles D. Bonsall, Pittsburgh,Pa., assigner to Standard Railway Refrigerator Company, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Delaware Y Application April 6, 1939, Serial No. 266,383

9 Claims. (C1. 653-17) This invention relates to refrigerator cars usedto transport perishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. Theessential features of a refrigerator car are an insulated body toprevent or retard ingress of heat during warm weather and egress of heatduring cold weather and a cooling or heating means depending upon theprevailing outside temperature.

'I'his invention applies particularly to cars in which the coolingmeans, preferably containers for Water ice, eutectic ice, brine or dryice, are suspended'immediately below the ceiling of the car. The ladingis supported in spaced relation to the floor by a foraminous rack.Flues, preferably associated with the side walls of the car, communicatebetween the refrigerant compartment and the space under the floor rackto provide a path for the circulation of air. The path is from therefrigerant compartment downwardly through the aforementioned flues,through the space under the floor rack. and upwardly through the ladingcompartment to the refrigerant compartment. Y

It is an object of the invention to provide means for Ventilating thecar. Certain types of commodities give off considerable amounts of heatduring the transportation or storage thereof. The heat is the result ofchemical changes occurring as, for example, the ripening of fruit. Thisheat must be removed from the car to prevent it from increasing thetemperature of the lading with a consequent acceleration of ripening andeven spoiling. I provide means for allowing fresh air from outside thecar to enter the lading compartment and displace the warmed air comingfrom the lading.

Another object of the invention is to incorporate with theaforementioned Ventilating means an arrangement by which solidrefrigerant is prevented from entering the lading compartment duringloading of the refrigerant. A further object of the invention is toincorporate means to prevent solid refrigerant from escaping into thelading compartment from the refrigerant containers during servicemovements of the car.`

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description by referring to the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial transverse section of a refrigerator car embodyingmy invention, the section being on line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the structure shown in' Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified construction.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified construction. i

Fig. 1 shows a refrigerator car having `an insulated roof 2,7wall 3 andfloor 4. A refrigerant container 6 is positioned below the roof 2, ahatch 1 being provided in said roof for the'purpose of loadingrefrigerant into the containers. A floor rack 9 supports the lading inthe lading compartment Iand' provides a space l2 between the lading andthe floor. A drip pan or partition I4 is spaced below the container 6 toprovide the passage I5 and has upstanding from an edge thereof themember I1. The member I1 is spaced from the container li to form thechannel I9 and from the similar member I1 on the opposite 'side of thecar to provide the duct 2li.

A flue 22 is associated with the wall 3 to complete a path forcirculation of air. Air in the passage I5 and channel I9, being cooledby con' tact with the refrigerant/container 5, falls due to itsincreased density through the flue 22 Vto the space lzfupwardly throughthe rack 9 to the lading compartment I El, Ythus cooling the lading, andfinally returns through the duct 20 to the channel I9. y

The container 6 comprises a bottom 3l), side walls 3l, end walls 32 anda top 33. The hatch 1, being an opening for loading refrigerant, extendsthrough the roof 2 and container top 33. A hatch frame 35 is associatedwithv the roof 2 and surrounds the hatch 1. As shown in Fig. 1, aportion 31 of the container top 33 is substantially horizontal, thusforming with the pitched roof 2 a passage 39above the container t. 1 Thecontainer top 33 may conform throughout its entire length to the slopeat the center, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. If desired, the Center portion31 may be made as shown in Fig. 1 and the end portions Ml as shown inFig. 3, conforming to the slope of the roof 2. l

When it is desired to ventilate the car, a cover is removed from thehatch and. air flows/from outside the car through the hatch 1, passage,39, opening 42 and duct 2II, thus Ventilating the Y commodity in thelading compartment IG. Fo-

raminous material 43, such as wire netting cna perforated plate, ispreferably inserted between thetop 33 of the container 6 and the roof 2.The foraminous material 43 may be positioned at the edge of thecontainer as shown in Figs. `1 and 2 or at the hatch as shown in Fig. 4.'Ihe foraminous material is intended to prevent solid refrigerant fromentering the lading compartment Ity through the duct 20. This would beliable to occur during loading of the refrigerant and during servicemovements of the car when refrigerant could be splashed from thecontainer.

I do not wish to limit my invention to any particular slope of roof orcontainer top. Figs. 1 and show a portion of the top substantiallyhorizontal while Fig. 4 shows the top inclined at a slope opposite tothat of the roof. Neither do I wish to limit my invention to having thecontainer top of a uniform slope throughout its length. The combinationof Figs. A1 and 3 shows that I contemplate having a top of oneparticular slope, not necessarily horizontal, adjacent the hatch andanother slope at the ends of the container remote from the hatch.

The refrigerant containers used in a car of the type disclosed arecommonly arranged to retain a quantity of liquid refrigerant. There maybe openings in the containers, however, which openings may have beencaused by mishap or intentionally provided in spaced relation above thebottoms of the containers for overflow of the liquid refrigerant. Ineither case, such openings usually are much too small to provideadequate Ventilation for the car. Insofar as ventilation of the carl isconcerned, containers having such openings are substantiallyimperforate.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of theinvention, though itis to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the-exact details of `construction shown and described, as itis obvious that various modificationsl thereof, within the scope of theclaims, will occur to persons skilled-in the art.

I claim:

I. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment and a roof, arefrigerant container below said roof, a hatch in said roof above saidcontainer, said container having a bottom, walls and top which aresubstantially imperforate except for an opening in said top aligned withsaid hatch for loading refrigerant into said container, a drip pan belowsaid container, a partition upstanding from an edge of said drip pan,means cooperating with said partition to form a duct communicating atits lower end with the upper part of the lading compartment, and apassage providing communication between said hatch and said duct tosupply Ventilating air to the lading compart- V ment of the car.

2'. In a refrigeratorcar having a lading compartment, spaced apart wallsand a roof, a refrigerant container adjacent each wall and near saidroof, a hatch in said roof above each of said containers, saidcontainers each having a top, bottom and walls which are substantiallyimperforate except for an opening in the top aligned with one of saidhatches for loading refrigerant into the container, said containersbeing arranged on opposite' sides of a duct which communicates at itslower end with the upper part of the lading compartment, and a passageproviding communication between said duct and each of said hatches tosupply' Ventilating air to the lading compartment of the car.

3. A structure as defined in claim 2 including a drip pan below eachcontainer and partitions upstanding from the adjacent edges of said drippans in spaced apart relation to form said duct therebetween.

4; In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a roof having ahatch therein, a refrigerant container arranged below said hatch andabove said lading compartment, said container having a top, bottom andwalls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in saidtop aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container,means providing a duct which extends upwardly from the upper part of thelading compartment, a passage communicating between said hatch and saidduct to supply Ventilating air to said lading compartment and foraminousmaterial arranged to prevent passage of solid refrigerant through saidpassage.

5. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a roof having ahatch therein, a refrigerant container arranged below said hatch andabove said lading compartment, said container having a top, bottom andwalls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in saidtop aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container,means providing a duct which extends upwardly from the upper part of thelading compartment, said roof being inclined and a part of said topadjacent said duct being substantially horizontal thereby providing apassage communicating between said hatch and said duct to supplyVentilating air to said lading compartment.

6. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, a roof having ahatch therein, a refrigerant container arranged below said hatch andabove said lading compartment, said container having a top, bottom andwalls which are substantially imperforate except for an opening in saidtop aligned with said hatch for loading refrigerant into said container,means providing a duct which extends upwardly from the upper part of thelading compartment, said roof being inclined, a part of said top remotefrom said duct being inclined in substantial conformity with theinclination of said roof and a part of said top adjacent said duct beingnonparallel with said roof thereby providing a passage communicatingbetween said hatch and said duct tosupply ventilating air to said ladingcompartment.

7. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, and a roof, arefrigerant container below said roof and above said lading compartment,a hatch in said roof above said container, said container having anopening in the upper part thereof aligned with said hatch for loadingrefrigerant into the container, and a bottom and walls which aresubstantially imperforate, a drip pan below said container, a partitionupstanding from an edge of said drip pan, means cooperating with saidpartition to form a duct communicating at its lower end with the upperpart of the lading compartment, and a passage communicating between saidhatch and the upper part of said duct to supply Ventilating air to thelading compartment.

8. In a refrigerator car having a lading compartment, and a roof, arefrigerant container below said roof and above said lading compartment,a hatch in said roof above said container, said container having a top,bottom and walls, a drip pan below said container, a partitionupstanding from an edge of said drip pan, means cooperating with saidpartition to form a duct communicating at its lower end with the upperpart of the lading compartment, a passage communicating between saidhatch and the upper part ofsaid duct to supply Ventilating air to thelading compartment, and an opening in said top aligned with said hatchfor loading refrigerant into said container, said top, bottom andA wallsbeing otherwise free of openings adequate for substantial flow ofVentilating air.

part of said lading compartment, one of said containers lcomprising atop, bottom and walls which are substantially imperforate except for anopening in said top aligned with the respective hatch for loadingrefrigerant into the container,

and a passage communicating between said duct and said last mentionedhatch to supply ventilating air to the lading compartment of the car.

CHARLES D. BONSALL.

